Hey guys normally im on the 94-97 diesel section but my good buddy has a 2000 f350 with 2xxk miles on it. He decided that he was going to try to fix the occasional abnormal knock, even after admitting he doesnt know anything about diesels, so he was reading on other forums on what to try and he went ahead and replaced all the sensors on the hpop. then while running he unplugged the harness that goes into the valve cover (drivers side) it stumbled of course then he plugged it back in and it smoothed out, late he did that again and kinda rocked the connector and then it stumbled and died and will not start. He called me and i started investigating, the connector (male plug) was cracked at the face of it, also if we spray a small sniff of starting fluid in the intake it will start but no throttle response, he pulled codes with a $50 reader and nothing, with that being said i know on the obs trucks like mine those cheapo readers tend not to pull codes on obs trucks but idk about the sd trucks, all lights come on on the dash and the electric fuel pump is brand new.
What next guys? he is ready to buy a new idm but id rather not help him just throw parts at it

 

Cheap readers and Ford OBDII... it's a crap shoot for us too. With that budget in mind, the best I can suggest is get an OBDII adaptor (Wifi for iOS or Bluetooth for Android or Windows), an OBDII app for a portable device, then click the hard/no start link in my signature. Torque Pro for Android or Dash Command for Android and iOS are a couple of examples.

With a bigger budget (under $400), AutoEnginuity or ScanXL (both Ford Enhanced) come to mind.

Don't give up on the IDM just yet, I've seen plenty of trucks run just fine, even with IDM codes flashing on the readers. I'd focus more on the connections to the valve covers (inside and out). You can test those by using the UVCH link in my signature.

 

Have you checked any of the PCM or IDM related fuses?

Then any other fuse that pertains to a running engine.....

Does the tach move when you turn it over?

Have you physically felt the fuel pump vibrate when you first turn the key on?

 

We replaced all the harness connectors and checked every fuse in the engine bay and the cab, and he replaced all the relays even tho im sure none were bad, i did physically feel the fuel pump vibrate, the tach did move

 

Do you mean just the external ones, or did you also check/replace the valve cover gaskets and the injector/glow plug harnesses under each VC? If you are going to do these, make sure you use Motorcraft, as the aftermarket ones have been known to cause problems.

Have you done the ohm-check for the power/ground circuit for each injector? (see Tugly's links for details)

It sounds like you have all ready discovered a clue, in the cracked plug. It may have damaged/melted the VC connector and/or under VC harness, by shorting/overheating.

Also, you really should avoid using ether on these engines, but if you insist, at least disable all the glow plugs first.

 

I know ether is not good on these engines but i made sure we disabled the gp first, he replaced the valve cover and the uvch as well, he started all of this before i was helping him so im catching up if you will. no i havent done the ohm check yet

 

OK, by virtue of the fact that the truck is a 2000 model and there is movement of the tach and the fuel pump is active, you can probably assume that the PCM is still good.

The only true way that I know of is to connect a scan tool and see if it recognizes the PCM and can communicate both ways. If so, pull codes and then see if he or you can find an IDM to swap in for further troubleshooting.

As you probably know, make sure the truck is off with the keys in any place other than the ignition prior to connecting anything to the PCM or port, or anything else, even under the hood. It will help if your friend understands the importance of this also.

FYI, he could fry a PCM by not turning the truck off and they are about $400-500 now.

 

Also, check this link to see if there is another FTE member near you with the ability to scan:

http://api.viglink.com/api/click?for...C%2Fb%3E%20map

 

Well he ran his cheapo scanner on it so there was communication, no codes but it is a cheapo scanner. Awesome i appreciate the help guys! ill update when we try some stuff!

 

Hey guys it was the idm! again thank you for the help!

 

Sorry to say, but check again. More specifically, fuse #22 under the hood. Mines been out a few times due to grounding issues. 2 of the times that It blew, it was a hairline fracture that I didn't see. Had to stare at it for some time.

Second, I think the fuel bowl heater has something to do with it. By the way... was it cranking unusually fast? No smoke, or diesel smell?

 

The OP told us it was the IDM, 5 MONTHS AGO!

 

Oh. Lol, Embarassing. I see that now, the whole page never loaded.